Method of applying hose fittings



y 2, 1957 B. A. MAN, JR 2,797,474

METHOD OF APPLYING HOSE FITTINGS Original File d Sept. 14, 1950 I F I G.2 INVENTOR BENJAMIN-A MAIN, JR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent METHOD OF APPLYING HOSE FITTINGS BenjaminA. Main, Jr., Rives Junction, Mich., assignor to Aeroquip Corporation,Jackson, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Original application September14, 1950, Serial No. 184,813, now Patent No. 2,731,279, dated January17, 1956. Divided and this application October 30, 1953, Serial No.389,223

1 Claim. (Cl. 29-506) This invention relates to an improved method ofapplying socket and nipple end fittings to the end portions of flexiblehose and in particular to gripping and sealing ofi leakage at the end ofa section of flexible hose employed to conduct fluids and securedbetween inner and outer surfaces of a socket and nipple assembly.

This application is a division of Patent No. 2,731,279, filed September14, 1950.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide animproved method of securing a socket and nipple end fitting upon the endportion of a section of flexible hose, more particularly hose having aninner tube of rubber, or rubber-like material, and a reinforcing coverof wire braid.

It is thus an object of the invention to provide a method by which acylindrical flap can be severed from one end of a section of flexiblehose upon assembly of a nipple within its companion socket alreadyapplied over the hose and in which said flap becomes non-compressivelysealed upon the nipple as the remainder of the hose end portion isgripped by compression between inner and outer surfaces of the socketand nipple, respectively.

The above and further objects and advantages of the invention willappear clear from consideration of the following detail description ofone mode of carrying out the invention with respect to a particular andpractical embodiment of the invention, by way of example, with referenceto the accompanying drawings and from the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a half sectional, half elevational view of an end fitting inaccordance with the invention, showing the position of the parts uponassembly of the end fitting upon a hose end portion and showing theouter nipple portion about to cut into the hose, and

Figure 2 is a similar view to Figure 1 but showing the end fittingcompletely assembled upon the hose.

Referring to the drawings, the end fitting is shown as comprising anouter tubular socket, indicated generally at 10, and an inner tubularnipple, indicated generally at 12.

The socket is formed at one end with a screw-threaded opening 14.Adjacent said end, and on the socket interior, there is an enlargedannular recess 16 of an external diameter in excess of the externaldiameter of a length of flexible hose, indicated generally at 18, to anend portion of which hose it is desired to aifix the end fitting. Thisrecess, on the socket interior, is followed by an axially spaced seriesof inwardly projecting annular protrusions 20, 20a which define openingsof progressively decreasing diameter in a direction away from the socketopening 14 and towards the opposite end of the socket, where the socketinterior has a short cylindrical portion 22 followed by an inwardlydirected bevelled annular surface 24 merging into the protrusion 20a,which defines the smallest of said openings. The diameter of theinterior cylindrical end portion 22 of the socket approximates that ofthe external diameter of the 2,797,474 Patented July 2, 1951 hose 18.With regard to the diameter of the opening defined by the protrusion20a, this will be smaller than the external diameter of the hose butmust not be so small as to prevent the leading end of the inner nippleportion .26 from being advanced axially along the inside of the bore ofthe hose and past the protrusion 20a as the nipple is screwed into thesocket. The actual diameter may vary within limits and is capable ofready determination by those skilled in the art, who will be aware ofthe degree of deformation of the hose at the protrusion 20a, as seen inFigure 1, and the possibility of the leading end of the nipple portion26 being able to pass along the hose bore without digging-in to the hosematerial or exerting pressure against the hose which might cause thehose to be pushed'out of the socket. In some instances, as with smallsize hose with an internal diameter of inch or less it might benecessary to taper the inner nipple portion on its outer surfaceadjacent and towards its said leading end in order to avoid suchdigging-in or pushing action from occurring.

The nipple 12 comprises an inner tubular part 26 and an outer tubularpart 28 which is concentric with the inner part 26 and defines therewithan annular chamber 30. The outer nipple part 28 is shown with anintegral end portion 32 having an annular recess which, with acorresponding recess on a hollow nut 34, forms an enclosure for a wirering 36 by which the nut has a swivel connection with the nipple. Theinner nipple part 26 is shown separately formed and connected to thenipple part 28 at 38. On its exterior surface, and opposite the interiorcylindrical surface 40 of the outer nipple part, the inner nipple part26 is formed with a relief 42. The outer tubular nipple part 28 hasexterior screw-threading 44 and a pointed end 46, which provides acutting edge. Said nipple part 28 is made so as to be substantiallynondeformable by the compressive forces of assembly of the end fittingupon the hose, whereby the chamber 30 has a substantially fixed volume.

To assemble the end fitting upon the end portion of the hose 18, as seenin Figure 2, the socket is first applied over the hose exterior, whichis shown constituted by wire braid 48. As the socket is applied over thehose it will be deformed by compression at the protrusion 20a,

with an attendant flaring-out of the hose end, as indicated at 50 inFigure 1. With the socket applied over the hose and positioned as seenin Figure 1, the nipple is then screwed into the. socket by engagementof the screwthreading 14 and 44. As the nipple is screwed into thesocket its pointed end 46 will be brought into cutting contact with theend edge of the inner layer 52 of the hose, which layer is shown asbeing of rubber. With the parts positioned as shown in Figure 1, thesocket will be securely held upon the hose end due to the compressionbetween 20a and the inner nipple part 26, to the extent that continuedscrewing of the nipple into the socket Will cause the pointed nipple end46 to cut into the hose layer 52 and form a cylindrical flap 54 (Figure2) which enters into the chamber 30 as the cutting operation proceedsand the nipple enters further into the socket. At the same time theinner nipple portion 26 will advance along the hose bore 56, passing bythe maximum compression zone defined by the protrusion Mia and coming torest approximately opposite the cylindrical end 22 of the socket. tweenthe protrusion 20a and the inner nipple part 26, and the cutting of thecylindrical flap 54, will be attendant with a forcing of the outersocket hose layer into the socket recess 16 and into engagement with theprotrusions 20, against which the hose reinforcement is forced bycompression between these protrusions and the exterior surface of theouter nipple part 28. The relief 42 serves to reduce surface frictionupon the flap 54 as it is The compression of the hose beconstrained toenter the chamber 30. This is advantageous as it prevents undue damageto the material of the flap.

With the end fitting fully assembled upon the hose end, as shown inFigure 2; the ridge 20a, togetherwith the inner nipple part 26, imposespressure upon the hose in advance of the pointed end 46 of the outernipple part to the extent that fluid within the hose which is ofsutficient pressure to force it way past the protrusion 20a and travelbetween the hose bore 56 and the outer surface of the inner nippelportion 26 will also be sufiicient to force the flap 54 into firmfluid-sealing contact with the surface 40 of the chamber 30 and thusarrest further outward flow of the fluid.

Having thus disclosed my invention what I claim as novel and wish tosecure by Letters Patent is:

A method of gripping and sealing off leakage at the end of flexible hoseemployed for conducting fluids in which an end portion of the hose issecured between an outer tubular socket and an inner tubular nipple,comprising the steps of inserting the hose end portion within the socketby relative axial displacement between the hose and the socket, theninserting the nipple through one end of the socket so that the nippleenters slidably into the hose bore with a snug fit, holding the hosewithin the socket by pressure applied to the hose between opposedportions of the socket and the nipple located in axially spaced relationfrom a' cutting edge provided upon the nipple for cutting into the hosefrom the end thereof which is inserted in the socket and, while the hoseis firmly held between the socket and the nipple, rotating :the nippleso that the said cutting edge cuts into the hose and forms an innercylindrical flap thereon which enters into sealing engagement within anannular space defined between inner and outer portions of the nipple andthe remainder of the hose end portion is finally gripped between thesocket and the nipple.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,915,041 Wallace June 20, 1933 1,977,219 Williams Oct. 16, 19342,431,522 Trevaskis Nov. 25, 1947

